Writers Who Read
LIVE! #24
LIVE! #24
4 October 2020
The Testaments
by Margaret Atwood
by Margaret Atwood
Agenda
- Why We're Here
- Literary Forensics
- - What do I bring?
- - What do I feel?
- - What do I notice?
- - What do I study?
- Next Month's Reading & Study
Why We're Here
We Writers want to improve our craft
by Reading like a Writer
through Literary Forensics training
we learn from each other
Roundtable Rules
Always refer back to the book
We practice active listening & serendipity
Every feeling and observation is valid...
but not every conclusion
Always refer back to the book
Today's author: Margaret Atwood
What do I feel?
What in the book elicited that feeling?
Every feeling and observation is valid...
but every conclusion should be questioned
We practice serendipity
- nothing is too crazy
Always refer back to the book
What do I notice?
- • Language and Grammar
- • Context
- • Point of view
- • Character & character development
- • Pacing
- • Horizontal structure
- • Layering of themes
- • Overall effect
The Testaments - Stats
- Marketing: Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction, Literary Criticism & Theory, Dystopian Science Fiction, Political Fiction, Dystopian Fiction
- Genre: Realistic Future Arch-Plot Long-Form
- Word count: 109,131
- Print Pages: 381
- Reading Level: 7th grade
- POV: Aunt Lydia, 369A, 369B, Symposium secretary
- Publish date: September 10, 2019
- Publisher: Nan A. Talese / Doubleday
- Sold By: Penguin / Random House
- Audio book actors: Ann Dowd (Aunt Lydia on TV), Bryce Dallas Howard (Witness 369A), Mae Whitman (Witness 369B), Derek Jacobi, Tantoo Cardinal, Margaret Atwood
- Prizes: 2019 Booker Prize
Sentiment Analysis - 3 POVs Extracted
Writers Who Read: Coming Up
November 1: Weather (USA, 2020) - Jenny Offill
December 6: The Nickel Boys (USA, 2019) - Colson Whitehead